Testing of Faith

Man, these last couple of weeks have been really tough. I have been tested to the very limit by God. It is so weird that God would be testing my faith at the age of 15, but he is and he is doing some incredible things through me because of it.

My Worship Pastor for our Youth Group had talked to me and a few other of the guys about reading the book of James, and I did. I was kind of confused when I started reading it because honestly I was not going through any hard trials or temptations at that point. However looking back on when I read it, it was good that I was reading it then, compared to admist the trials.

The reason being is that I could refer to James over and over and love that book over again. One verse that I have been looking over for a while is James 1:2-3 which says, "Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith creates perseverance." This was the first verse(s) that I went back to within these last couple of weeks.

I just very lately haven't felt like myself. I have spent a lot of time at work, and at my church. Sometimes I even work a 11-2 (which might not seem long, but I work at a fast food restaurant where you need to be on your feet and moving constantly and its tiresome) and then head home to pack up my guitar and then go straight to church. At one point I was even thinking about quiting my job so I wouldn't be so stressed out.

However something that I have realized is sometimes God calls us out to just focus on him. When I think of focusing on God, all I can think is Peter walking out on the water to Jesus. Sometimes we like to focus on the "storm" in our life instead of on Jesus. The truth is when Peter walked out onto the water it could've been perfectly beautiful out, but the truth is if Peter didn't focus on Jesus, he would've still sunk.

That is kind of like life. No matter if we have a storm going on in our life, or if it is perfectly fine we still need to focus on Jesus. Jesus, yes tests our faith, but it will only prove perseverance for the future and it will be worth it in the end. God knows what he is up to, and it is really cool to see God's plan unfold right in front of me!